Machka 

Have you had any recent insect/arachnid encounters while riding ... let's say, in the last year or so? Bees in your bonnet ... inhaling a little extra protein ...


On my last ride (Jan 11?), something bit me. I was cycling along happily, when all of a sudden there was a stabbing pain in my right leg, just at the point where the top of my sock was located. I swatted and scratched and there were 3 more stabbing pains before the "attack" stopped. When I looked at my hand, there were little black legs and a few other bits and pieces on my hand, but not enough for me to identify the attacker.

I guessed spider. But a couple medical technicians guessed jack jumper ant sting.

Two weeks later, and the bites/stings are only slightly healed.


[HR][/HR]
Previous threads about previous encounters ...

https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycli...our-rides.html

https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycling/902462-bugs.html

FLvector

Since your summertime is our winter season and the temps have been too low for most insects to be active in most areas except the deep south, I'd guess most haven't been "bugged" recently. I haven't had any encounters in FL recently, but you always have to be careful not to step into a fire ant mound. If you're not paying attention, you'll have to do a quick dance.

K.Katso

A bee went into my helmet vent on a descent during a mountain cyclosportive last August. In my attempts to shake it out, my brand-new Oakleys went flying and skipped off the road into the forest at about 70kph. I didn't get stung, but the rest of that ride sucked without my glasses.

It stung my wallet a little bit having to replace them.

banerjek

It can take surprisingly long for stuff to heal. Two weeks out, I'll sometimes still have swelling and the stings can still be open. I've taken more insects in my helmet and jersey than I'll ever know and have been stung many times. I've also inhaled more than I can count.

Protip: If you don't have hair, bugs don't get tangled in your hair which increases their chances of escaping and decreases their chances of getting trapped and pissed off.

Machka 

Well, I had shaved my legs ...

bikecrate

The best bee bike story I have was the time a bee flew into the open top of my jersey. I had the presence of mind to grab the bottom of the jersey and gently flap it open. The wind made an air pocket and the bee was forced out the bottom back of the jersey by the moving air.

falconsusi

I have long hair and so it works best to have braids for riding. Unfortunately I had some stinging insect get caught in my hair near my neck and I ended up like this . I am wet because in the summer after a ride I like to jump into the pool to cool off. It is a saltwater pool so I don't have to worry about harming my clothes

wphamilton

Last August as I mentioned in that thread, the only time for me. It seemed deliberate, as if the hornet had some personal grudge, because he wasn't entangled. It was just hanging on to the top of my bare leg which couldn't have been easy at that speed.

It swelled up immediately to silver dollar size and I was concerned about the neurotoxin at near-max heart rate, but I couldn't detect any adverse effects so I just went on. It did take more than a week before it stopped bothering me.

Lone

i was stung by a wasp on my leg and my leg was swollen for a week. it would have been difficult to handle if i was bicycle touring.

Yendor72

A jack jumper!!! Glad you're not allergic if it was one.

I tend to inhale and consume my share of gnats and mosquitoes though. To the point that I feel I need to log them into my food app.

happyscientist

I am a magnet for stinging insects. I get stung several times a year, often while riding. I can pull a stinger out of my leg and flush it with water or unzip my jersey with one hand and pull out a wasp with the other (gloves are so essential) all without stopping my pedalling.

caloso

A few years ago I discovered I am allergic to bee toxin while on a ride home from work. Got the full anaphylaxis and ended up at the ER. I now carry an Epi-Pen on all rides and have had to use it 3 or 4 times since.

datlas 

Same here. Only difference is I am getting monthly bee venom shots (which really sting like crazy!) so that in the future I am much less likely to have an allergic reaction. Also, I have not had to use epi-pen since the last reaction which was about 2 years ago.

caloso

That's interesting. I was told that I had reached the tipping point of going into anaphylaxis because I had so much exposure. I had been stung many times as a kid (mowing lawns, playing baseball on clover-infested fields, etc.) and that it was an irreversible thing. Can you tell me more about this exposure therapy?

datlas 

Sure. It's "immunotherapy" not all that different from allergy shots people get for other allergies. Initially you get tested to find out which class of bee/wasp you are truly allergic to. You start out with a shot every week of a tiny amount, but after a few months you get a full strength shot and drop back to monthly. You may want to consult with an allergist to discuss the options.

I decided to to through the hassles because as a road cyclist there is a chance I will be in the middle of nowhere and acute anaphyalxis, as you probably know, is not fun. Even as a trained physician it scared the crap out of me!

Good link on immunotherapy: Immunotherapy for Allergies to Insect Stings

indyfabz

I had forgotten all about this incident until I saw this thread....

I was riding in Montana back in June. While riding the Pioneer Mountains Scenic Byway I sat down on the side of the road to strip off some layers, including a base layer, which required me to remove my jersey and pull down my bib straps.

After I stood up and got the straps up and the jersey back on, I started feeling painful stings on my neck and under my jersey. I felt one side of my neck, felt a little bump and pulled off an ant. Turned around, looked at the ground where I had sat and realized I had plopped my ass right down on the opening of an ant borough. Got the jersey off and the bib straps down and removed at least 20 of the suckers from my body. The stings remained painfully for about another hour, though I could still ride. I was somewhat worried that I might go into some sort of toxic shock.

I am from the urban northeast. Getting attacked by stinging ants is not high on my daily list of things to guard against.

banerjek

My experience is that you get more sensitive to stings over time. When I was a kid, I had allergy shots for a wide variety of things -- that really helped with my asthma.

I had been stung many times and never had been sensitive to them until about 10 years ago when me and my dog stepped on a yellow jackets' nest and both of us received dozens of stings. Yellow jackets suck.

telebianchi

Last summer in Alaska I had a big ol' dragon fly get caught in my helmet. It went in right at the bottom of a downhill which immediately went into a climb with a narrow shoulder and traffic so I didn't really have a place to pull over. Had to keep riding to the top of the 1/2 mile climb while hearing and feeling its big wings flapping away. Had I not seen what it was beforehand I would have been waiting to get stung or bitten but since I saw it flying into my helmet is was more humourous and annoying.

JonnyV

A couple years ago I had problems with butterfly attacks. Everytime I'd ride this one mountain I'd get bombarded by a fee butterflies. Had one get stuck in a helmet vent. That felt kinda wierd.
"When I die I want to come back as a butterfly"
"Why a butterfly?"
"Because no one ever suspects the butterfly"

happyscientist

That also works if you get stung enough (not that I recommend it). Several years ago, I got stung for the first time in over a decade. The entire leg swelled and bruised. Shortly afterward, I got stung on the arm, and the same thing happened, this time with numbness and joint stiffness, but I had medication. The next few times (I am convinced that I had some sort of body chemistry change), I had the numbness, stiffness, swelling and bruising, but not as badly. Eventually, the scary symptoms went away. Now I just have normal reactions.
If you have a mild allergy, you don't have to carry an epipen. Carry Zantac, the heartburn medicine. It is a proton pump inhibitor, and will reduce swelling and joint pain caused by an allergic reaction. You could also carry benedryl, but I am, yes, allergic to benedryl. Obviously, this is not a substitute if you are susceptible to anaphylaxis.

bikecrate

Several years ago I was doing yard work and got stung several times on the face. I thought it was bees, but now I know it was Yellow Jackets. That was painful. I went to work the next day and everyone thought I had a stroke because one side of face wouldn't move.

grampa.sjb

On a century in the Sierra foothills, I got a hornet in my jersey on a nice downhill!It stung me three times before I could stop, remove the jersey and let the nasty thing go!

Jiggle

I saw one of these crossing the road one time. I caught it and put it in a water bottle. My nephew was excited to have it for his bug collection. We injected it with rubbing alcohol.

Ben I.

On a very hot summer day last year I had unzipped my jersey a little, bad idea. I felt something hit my chest and then moments later felt what must have been a bee sting me inside my jersey. More annoying than anything else.

BigC_82

Last August I was riding on the local rail trail and I got stung in webbing part of my hand thru my gloves.